LEXINGTON, KY. - One week after Ohio had a homecoming hero in the form of a backup quarterback, Kentucky found a similar one in backup quarterback Shane Boyd.
Ohio (2-5) and Kentucky both struggled to score points in the first half, but thanks to Boyd, the Wildcats pulled away in the second half to beat the Bobcats, 35-14, Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium.
Boyd replaced Kentucky starter Jared Lorenzen after Lorenzen fumbled on the Wildcats' first two offensive series. Boyd gave the Ohio defense all kinds of trouble.
He can throw
and he can run Ohio cornerback Chip Cox said. What more is there you need to do? If he can run and move and he can throw the ball that's like Michael Vick almost. Not as quick or as fast
but if he can run the ball and he can throw the ball
what can a defense do?
Boyd did most of his damage on the ground, carrying 10 times for 85 yards and two touchdowns.
Early in the second quarter with Ohio leading, 7-0, Boyd set up Kentucky's only touchdown of the half with a 45-yard run.
Kentucky (3-4) scored on its first two possessions of the second half. On the first play after an Ohio turnover, Boyd ran it in from 12 yards out. On the following possession, Boyd completed a flea-flicker pass to wide receiver Tommy Cook for a 42-yard touchdown. He also caught a touchdown pass late in the game.
Ohio coach Brian Knorr said a lot of the problems Boyd gave Ohio were due to Ohio's inability to tackle him.
We didn't tackle well
but he made us miss
Knorr said. That kid can run
and he's an athlete. But we knew that.
While Kentucky was able to make adjustments and put points on the board after a sluggish first half, Ohio was not able to do the same.
We didn't execute like we wanted to
said quarterback Austen Everson, who made his second consecutive start. I think the film is going to show that a lot. I made some mistakes out there
bad reads
and our offense
